Stone Man

Blown and sand carved glass
17” x 11” x 10”

The statue’s eyes moved.
“Gak!” Raven cried, and he flew straight up in the air. “It’s alive!”
“Of course, I’m alive, you dumb bird,” said the statue. “Now come back and land on my shoulder so the people see you. And move around so they don’t think you’re a statue like me.”

- Excerpt from "The Good, the Bad and the Raven" written by Garth Stein

Arresting Moment

Blown and sand carved glass
18.25” x 13” x 5”

The military man stood in front of Raven and the stone man. He carefully considered the composition. He hemmed; he hawed. Then he dropped a coin in the hat. The stone man sneezed a puff of dust.
“Arrest this man!” the military man cried.
“But I have my papers!” the stone man protested.

- Excerpt from "The Good, the Bad and the Raven" written by Garth Stein

Ghost Vision

Blown and sand carved glass
7.5”x 17.25”

The foggy forms, which had by then formed into full ghosts, seemed confused.
“Raven,” they said, “you cannot run. You cannot hide. You cannot turn yourself into a statue. You must remember the past, or else you will be doomed to repeat it!”
“That sounds nearly fatalistic!” cried Raven. “Please, let’s not go there! I didn’t like the Past the first time I lived through it. Please don’t make me do it again!”

- Excerpt from "The Good, the Bad and the Raven" written by Garth Stein

Journey of Hearts

Blown and sand carved glass

Raven flew high in the sky then, in search a reason, in search of a rhyme. In search of a clue to help him understand time.

Instead, he found Eagle.

- Excerpt from "The Good, the Bad and the Raven" written by Garth Stein

Knowing the World

Blown and sand carved glass
10.5" x 24" x 7"

Raven wasn’t exactly clear why he agreed to go flying with Eagle, or if he had even agreed to it in the first place, but there he was at the top of the sky, looking down on the world.
“Lovely, isn’t it?” Eagle asked.
“It’s a little...[gulp]…distant for my taste,” said Raven. “Maybe we could go down a closer to the ground?”
“Don’t be silly,” Eagle said as they soared miles above the earth. “Now tell me: how can I help you?”

- Excerpt from "The Good, the Bad and the Raven" written by Garth Stein

Mucous Boy

Blown and sand carved glass
22” x 9” x 6.5”

“Now I will tell you a story,” said Eagle. So he began:
Perhaps you have heard of the great warrior, Entuk, who was known far and wide for his strength and power. And you must know that his name has meaning in English; it means “mucus.”
“Gross,” said Raven.
“Not gross at all,” replied Eagle. “Mucus is the stuff of life, the substance, the lubricant, the air filter of our essence.”
“That’s even more gross,” said Raven.
“Listen,” said Eagle.

- Excerpt from "The Good, the Bad and the Raven" written by Garth Stein

Land Otters Web

Blown and sand carved glass
20.5” x 10” x 4"

“Shh!” said Eagle. “Look!”
Creatures. Many of them sitting in a circle around the fire. Half animal, half man, they were hunched over, looking at their knees. Or, rather, looking at the laptop computers balanced on their knees.
“Are those…kushtaka?”
“Indeed,” said Eagle.
“Shouldn’t they be out stealing human souls?” Raven asked.
“They are,” replied Eagle.

- Excerpt from "The Good, the Bad and the Raven" written by Garth Stein

Deprived of Sight

Blown and sand carved glass
14" x 8" x 6" and 13" x 7" x 7"

“Excuse me,” Raven said, stopping one of the zombies who pulled his eyes from his phone and stared blankly at Raven. “Can you order some food with that thing?”
The Creature Formerly Known as a Person began to tremble. Raven looked into the poor thing’s eyes, they were hollow holes, no eyes at all. The creature began to shake violently as if it might explode.

- Excerpt from "The Good, the Bad and the Raven" written by Garth Stein

Speaking in Tongues

Blown and sand carved glass

This time they flew, which was a huge relief to Raven, whose feet were aching from all
that walking around through the underbrush. Eagle flew low enough and slow enough that they could fly together.
“Tell me,” Raven said to Eagle as they flew. “Are you the Ghost of Christmas Past,
Present, or Future?”
“Ha, ha,” laughed Eagle, which really did sound like a chicken’s crow. “I am no more
ghost than you, Brother!”

- Excerpt from "The Good, the Bad and the Raven" written by Garth Stein

World of Darkness

Blown and sand carved glass
13.5” x 12” x 12”

“We seem to be in perpetual night,” Raven observed.
“It just feels that way,” said Eagle. “It’s day right now.”
“But it’s dark.”
“Because the people cannot see the light,” explained Eagle.

- Excerpt from "The Good, the Bad and the Raven" written by Garth Stein

Spirit Reflected in the Moon

Blown and sand carved glass
13" x 8.75" x 8"

Raven gathered all the people together so he could address them. The people stood around him, listening carefully to Raven’s words.
“We honor our friend, the Sun, for he brings us warmth and comfort and light to see by. He brings us life and wakefulness. And yet, if he were here all the time, how would we navigate by the stars? So for part of the day, we say farewell to the Sun so that we can sleep and navigate by the stars, and so the Moon can come and pull up the Tides. Is this making sense to you?”

- Excerpt from "The Good, the Bad and the Raven" written by Garth Stein

Box of Wisdom

Collaboration with Tomas Colbengtson
Blown and sand carved glass with screen printing
16.75" x 10" x 8"

The people were astonished. “How can something as large as All the Knowledge in the World fit into such a small box?” they wondered aloud.
“Because it is a magic box,” Raven said.
He opened the box and showed the contents to the people.
“But it’s empty!” they cried.
“Yes,” agreed Raven. “Because magic, like gravity and electricity, is often invisible.”
“Ah!” the people cheered.
“You see,” said Raven, “this box is full of traditions and language and songs and dances and knowledge passed from generation to generation. Listen!”
They listened, and they could hear the beating of drums, the stomping of feet, the singing of songs, the telling of stories.

- Excerpt from "The Good, the Bad and the Raven" written by Garth Stein

Rain Spirit

Blown glass with bronze branches
22.5" x 16" x 12"

Raven looked and what did he see? People fighting each other over the Box of Knowledge. Angry, shouting, pummeling, vicious fighting. Over Knowledge.
“I’ve had it with these people!” Raven said. “Thunderbird! Thunderbird!”
“Why are you calling Thunderbird?” asked Eagle.
“It’s time for another Flood,” Raven replied. “It’s time to start over.”
“Perhaps that is not such a good idea,” said Eagle.

- Excerpt from "The Good, the Bad and the Raven" written by Garth Stein

Impervious Raven

Blown and sand carved glass with bronze branches
39” x 20” x 5"

“I believe it was an Obsidian tree,” said Eagle. “And the shards were glass...”

- Excerpt from "The Good, the Bad and the Raven" written by Garth Stein

Floating on Water

Blown and sand carved glass
6” x 14” x 5”

Raven considered the viability of this new recollection. It was not a bad idea, turning into a stone to wait out a Flood. And anyway, where is the top of the sky? He had flown quite high at times and never reached the top. How high would he have had to go to reach the top? And anyway, weren’t both possibilities possible in the Multi-verse?

- Excerpt from "The Good, the Bad and the Raven" written by Garth Stein

Raven Survives the Flood

Blown and sand carved glass
13” x 8.75” x 2”

“Raven,” interrupted Eagle. “Don’t become enamored with your own storytelling.”
“The water had washed nearly everyone away,”

- Excerpt from "The Good, the Bad and the Raven" written by Garth Stein

Floating on Water

Blown and sand carved glass
8.25" x 18.5" x 5.5"

Raven remembered. “I saved my mother by wrapping her in a duck skin. Many people wrapped themselves in duck skins so they could float. Others found their canoes.

- Excerpt from "The Good, the Bad and the Raven" written by Garth Stein

The Great Grease Feast

Collaboration with Josh Kopel
Blown and sand carved glass with fabricated and found objects
20” x 18” x 30”

It began as a way to save the world from itself. Or rather, to save the People of the World from their own self-destructive nature. For the People had grown sick verily—they were pale, bloated, hairless things covered with rashes, bags under their eyes, hardly an immune system left to speak of! They had forgotten the healing power of the sun. Worse, they had forgotten the healing power of Liquid Sunshine, as Raven called the oil distilled from fermented fish heads, which the Tlingit had depended upon to stay healthy throughout the long winters since the Beginning of Time. Or at least, since their beginning in the Course of Time. He set to work building a rendering facility to provide this essential oil for his people.

- Excerpt from "The Good, the Bad and the Raven" written by Garth Stein

Broken Copper

Blown and sand carved glass

At this party, which has much singing and dancing and food, takes place on the beach with a fire, and everyone is there. At this party Raven takes his copper plate. They call it a Tinàa.

A Tinàa is what they call the copper plate. At this party, Raven breaks his Tinàa into pieces, many pieces, and he gives the pieces to his guests. Each guest receives a piece of Raven’s valuable copper plate.

It is how it is done. The wealthy must give away their wealth, for wealth is worthless if it is held by only one; wealth is most valuable when it is held by all.

Heh.


- Excerpt from "The Good, the Bad and the Raven" written by Garth Stein